A simple common sense solution will often be more effective than a complicated approach when businesses are faced with difficult financial circumstances. The critical importance for small business owners placing a high priority on “getting back to the basics” is exemplified by increasingly limited working capital funding options in the face of commercial banking problems.

The entire process of reviewing “working capital basics” will help businesses conclude how other commercial finance options are likely to be more effective in resolving their predicament than a traditional bank solution of taking on more business debt to resolve financial problems. As small businesses will quickly realize when they review business loan and working capital management basics, during the past few years the most effective business financing options sources have changed. Commercial borrowers might need to be alerted that there are both “new basics” and “old basics” for most business financing situations, primarily because the active role that banks have traditionally played in providing both working capital loans as well other forms of commercial loans has been quietly stopped or significantly reduced.

Because of declining sales occurring simultaneously with decreased availability of bank financing, ensuring adequate business cash flow has become a higher priority for most businesses. In one common occurrence, borrowers are likely to attempt to juggle the timing of expenses whenever possible in an effort to match receipt of business income. Because this is not an ideal solution under any circumstances, business owners will realistically be forced to “get back to working capital financing basics”.

Looking at whether it is feasible to decrease overall bank financing is certainly a potential cost reduction that should not be overlooked. For almost all business finance services, many banks are increasing their fees. Businesses should increasingly try to reduce their business debt levels to avoid some of the inflated bank fees altogether. When this is not practical, the option of firing a current bank and replacing them with a new bank charging more reasonable fees will need to be seriously considered.

Another primary alternative for any business to explore in their efforts to deal with a mismatch of income and costs is business expense reduction, and credit card processing is always a significant cost to evaluate. This is frequently an expense area that is overlooked because the credit card processing provider was chosen for convenience or perhaps because they were recommended by a banking or other professional relationship. Analyzing alternative providers in conjunction with obtaining a merchant cash advance is one of the most practical methods for reducing this cost. Two cash flow benefits can be achieved by receiving commercial financing while simultaneously reducing a major cost by combining efforts to obtain additional working capital (via a business cash advance) with a change of processing services. It is appropriate to emphasize that this process should involve the close involvement of a business financing expert who is familiar with all aspects, especially since this is likely to involve some unfamiliar and potentially confusing aspects.

Business financing can no longer be taken for granted by any business owner because of the recent ineffectiveness that prevails with commercial banking. Some common advice for many complicated problems is often a variation of “it is time to get back to the basics”, and working capital loans represent an ongoing illustration of this wisdom for small businesses. Working capital management is the science and art of short term business cash management, and improvements in this area should always be welcomed by commercial borrowers.